A Penny For Your Thoughts
by FantasiiBubbles
Summary: He liked the way his name sounded from her lips and how she's never afraid to speak her mind. "Fuji-senpai, you're too pretty to be a guy." Well, only sometimes. Fuji/OC
1. Chapter 1

An unfamiliar girl stood in the middle of Seigaku's entrance, staring at the school building. Class didn't start for another hour, but students were already coming in, either for morning club activities or to socialize with friends. Many of those students noticed the girl immediately. They have never seen her before, yet she was in their school uniform, so she must be a new student. Some gave her welcoming smiles and some whispered among their friends, wondering what year and class she's in. The girl smiled a bit to herself as they walked past her, deciding the new atmosphere wasn't too bad. Her smile was replaced with a pout when a gust of wind blew her dark, messy bangs into her eyes. It subsided as soon as it came, and once her vision was back, an amused grin crept onto her face.

"Time to explore," she hummed, her dark hair danced behind her as she walked.

She decided to look around inside, and save exploring the outside facilities for later. It would be better to know where her classes and other important rooms are first. During her exploration, she caused many stares again. News about a new student was already circulating, and her presence confirmed it. She didn't mind the stares or whispers. The students weren't rude about it. They were just curious.

Other than sliding doors, she didn't find her new school that much different from her previous one. People acted the same and talked about the same things. They just said everything in Japanese instead of English. One thing she did find weird, was a boy in the hall she was slowly approaching. Even from afar, she could make out his hairstyle. His hair was dark and short, and it was similar to the shape of an egg. The part that made it weird was the two pieces of hair sticking down on his forehead.

"Is this some kind of new style trending in Japan?" She thought to herself. She didn't even realize she was staring until the boy stare back at her, breaking away from the conversation he was having with another guy; a brunette with glasses and a calm, stoic expression. He, too, looked at her when he noticed his friend stopped paying attention to him.

The closer she got to the pair, the more awkward it got, so the girl decided to take the stairs to end the 2v1 staring contest. "Hey Tezuka, doesn't she look like…?" Oishi began once the girl left his sight. Tezuka responded with a nod. A moment of silence passed by for them to wonder, and then they continued their conversation.

After bolting up the stairs and turning a corner, she nearly walked into an upperclassman whose eyes were completely hidden under his glasses.

"Ah, I'm sorry," she quickly apologized while taking a step back.

He held his hand up to signify that is was alright. "So, you're the new student everyone's been talking about." She nodded as he opened a notebook in his hand and held a pen in the other. "Your name, please"

"…Kinomi," the girl pronounced her given name slowly. Kinomi's head tilted to the side with her face twisted in confusion, wondering why this guy was writing it down.

"Ah! Inui!" A redhead appeared next to the guy called Inui, and pointed at him accusingly. "You're already taking data on the new student? You're going to scare her away!"

The redhead boy kept ranting while Inui kept writing and mumbling about it's his job to have information on everyone, and Kinomi was just staring at them with an amused smile, her hands behind her back and rocking on her heels slightly.

"At this point, you're both going to scare her away," a new voice chuckled. A boy with light brown hair and a closed-eye smile joined them. At his comment, the other 2 boys peered down at her.

"Nya, Fujiko-chan, she doesn't look scared at all!" The redhead took a step closer and bent over to get a closer look at Kinomi, while she continued staring with her big hazel eyes. Their staring contest lasted about 5 seconds, before the redhead beamed and squished her cheeks together with his hands. "I'm Kikumaru Eiji! You already met Inui, and this is Fuji!" They all gave their small greetings when Eiji introduced them, and he continued on, "Your name's Kinomi right? Can we know your given name, too?" He let go of her face by then so she could answer.

"My given name?" she wondered, and then she realized her mistake. "Kinomi's my given name," she rubbed the back of her head and grinned sheepishly. "I'm from the U.S so I'm used to being called by first name."

Before the group could ask for her family name, the bell rang and she was off to her first class with a wave goodbye.

"I didn't even get to ask what year she's in," Eiji pouted, turning back to his friends.

"You know," Fuji began. "She looks familiar."

Eiji tilted his head, "Hm? But she's a new student, and from America too. There's no way you could've met her before."

"It's the same for me. I feel like I've seen her face somewhere," Inui closed his notebook.

They shrugged it off and headed to their own classes.

Kinomi stood at the front of class 2-8, playing with the tips of her long, layered hair while her new classmates settle into their seats. Once everyone was in the room, the teacher closed the door and asked her to introduce herself. She gave a bright smile for a good first impression before writing her name on the chalkboard, and turned back to her classmates when she was done.

"My name is Echizen Kinomi," she announced, being careful to say her family name before her given name this time. "I'm from the U.S, but I came to Japan recently to stay with my family. Um…" she poked her chin in thought, not knowing what else she could say about herself.

Students began asking questions, which led to them shouting over each other to be heard. After answering as many as she could, the teacher hushed them and she was then seated between a boy and the window that revealed the hallway.

While the teacher began his daily lecture, she propped open the textbook in front of her as if she was following along, and then let her mind wander. "It's not like teachers will call on the new student anyways," she snickered in her head.

"Psst! Hey!" The boy on he left whispered to her. "Are you a relative of Echizen Ryoma?"

She shook her head no and turned back around. Not long after, she began hearing soft chewing sounds and turned to the source of it. The boy who asked her about Echizen Ryoma had his book in front of his face like she did, and on his desk was a bento box which he was rapidly stuffing his face in. It seemed Kinomi wasn't the only one who heard him. The teacher slammed his own book down and called out to him, "Oi, Momoshiro! Are you eating in class AGAIN?"

The boy called Momoshiro looked up sheepishly with food stuck to his face. "Haha sorry, but I'm a growing boy! And lunch isn't for another 4 hours!"

"You can wait like everyone else!" The teacher turned back to the board while Momoshiro wiped his face and grinned like he wasn't scolded only 2 seconds ago.

Needless to say, Kinomi found her first day interesting. She still wanted to see what clubs the school had, but she found herself extremely tired by the end of the day. The jetlag was finally catching up to her. Even the walk home was tiresome. As soon as she slid the door opened, she kicked off her shoes and curled up on the floor for a nap.

* * *

"Ah, I'm glad we don't have practice today!" Momoshiro cheered, unlocking his bike from the school rack. "Hey, Echizen. Wanna go grab some burgers?" He turned to look at his friend, who only looked back with a blank stare.

"Eh? Momo-senpai's always hungry," he stated.

"What? No, I'm not!"

"I heard you got caught eating during class again," Ryoma smirked.

"Tch, you're such a brat. You should respect your senpai more." Momo grabbed his bike and the pair started making their way home. "Speaking of class, there's a new student in mine. I thought she might've been related to you because you had the same name, but she said didn't know who you were when I asked."

Ryoma looked up disinterested, "You know more than one family can have the same name, right?"

"I know, I know, but I really thought you were relatives! She even moved here from America, too."

The two split off in separate directions at a certain street and Ryoma began to make out his home in the distance. As he got closer, he made an annoyed face. "Who left the gate open?"

He closed it properly behind him, unlike the last person, and slid the front door open. "I'm hom-" he stopped mid-sentence when he noticed a girl lying on the floor in front of his feet.

"Welcome home, Ryoma-san," his cousin Nanako came down the stairs with a smile. She noticed his gaze and motioned for him to follow her to the kitchen. "She passed out the moment she walked in, but I didn't want to wake her because she seemed so peaceful. Just let her sleep until dinner."

Ryoma grabbed a Ponta out of the fridge and took a long sip before replying, "But what is she doing here? She's supposed to be in America."

"I don't know all the details, so you'll have to ask her yourself." Nanako then sighed, "I told her to wait a few days to get use to the time zone, but she was persistent in going to school today. If you don't mind, can you move the rest of the boxes to her room? I have to start preparing dinner since oba-san is working late."

Ryoma began moving the boxes from the living room to Kinomi's bedroom like he was asked. Every time he came downstairs for another box, he glanced at his older sister for a few seconds. She looked calm while sleeping, which is a change from her energetic self he remembered. When the family decided to move to Japan 3 years ago, Kinomi refused to leave and stayed in America. She was too young to live by herself, so she moved in with their older brother, Ryoga. After being so reluctant to leave her hometown, Ryoma wondered what made Kinomi change her mind and come to Japan.

Why hello there my little lovelies~

This will now be in Kinomi's point of view

I felt something warm wrapped around my arm and shook me gently. "Ugh no… Ryoga-nii, five more minutes…"

Whoever was trying to get me up, huffed, "I'm not Ryoga, and you have to start sleeping at the right time if you want to get over your jetlag. C'mon, it's time for dinner."

I slowly picked myself up to a standing position and immediately grinned when I saw who woke me up. "Ah, if it isn't my cute little brother," I pulled him into a headlock and ruffled his hair. "It's been a few years. You're almost my height now," I teased.

He struggled in protest before I loosened my grip. "Nee-san, what are you doing in Japan?" Ryoma fixed his hair back, though it didn't look any different to me.

"Your expression looks the same as ever, Ryoma," I commented. "Aren't you glad to see me at all?"

He scowled, "You didn't answer my question."

"Neither did you, you little brat," I crossed my arms, and stuck my tongue at him in a manner that would have people guessing who was the older sibling. "It started getting complicated living with Ryoga-nii. He was always gone and I felt kind of lonely. You know I don't like being by myself for too long."

He settled for that answer and his expressions softened a bit. He'll never admit it, but I know that little punk missed me. We headed to the kitchen where the other three were waiting. Lots of hugs and questions from my cousin and mom, and my dad… well, he hasn't changed at all. He kept accusing me of coming to Japan to have a love affair or something, while looking at his pin-up magazine behind his newspaper at the same time. I glared and swiped the magazine from him and whacked him over the head with it.

"You haven't changed at all, you lecherous old man!"

"Ow! Who taught you to speak to your father that way?"

"You deserved that," Ryoma mumbled in between bites of his food.

"Who the hell raised you kids?!"

* * *

"Stop sulking, Ryoma."

My little brother pouted stubbornly, "Why did you make me come out here with you?" He leaned back on the deck of our back porch, using his arms to support himself. His face showed nothing less of complete boredom.

"Because the moon looks so pretty tonight," I sighed happily. Unlike him, I was lying in the grass happily and twirling my hair with my fingers. "I didn't get to do this often when I was in the apartment with Ryoga. I'd have to go all the way to the rooftop and it was constantly noisy. Besides," I rolled over on my stomach and grinned at him, "We need some sibling bonding time."

He sighed. "If you want, I can show you around the city this weekend."

"I'd like that!" I kicked my legs back and forth from excitement. "You can actually be nice sometimes, ototo-chan."

He scowled at the name.

* * *

**Why hello there. If you would be so kind to read this, I'd appreciate it :)**

I'm really excited to get going on this story and I hope I didn't miss any errors/typos on this first chapter. Working with OCs is what I do because I want to see how characters will adapt to them, and as always, I do my best to make sure they don't end up Mary-Sue-ish.

So Echizen Kinomi is my new test subject ;) This first chapter is to introduce her and let you see a glimpse of her personality, but not everything just yet. She's Ryoma's older sister (by a year) and despite her teasing sometimes, she cares for him and the rest of the family, too. I want to see what you think of her interaction with him so far.

Like most writers, I would be very happy if you took the time to give feedback/review and let me know what you think of it so far. Meanwhile, I'll start working on the second chapter :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Hope you guys enjoy this story cause I'm having fun writing this :D**

**Promise this will get more exciting after all the intros and setting up of the story!**

**So stick with me a little longer and you shall receive these beautiful cookies. Recipe courtesy of Inui Sadaharu, of course!**

* * *

This is absolutely priceless. I've never seen anyone so confused with the perfect face to match it. So I whipped out my phone and took a picture of him, which snapped him out of it.

"Wait a minute- yesterday… You said… but…"

"Momoshiro-san, it's not nice to stare."

Ryoma and I headed outside not too long ago, about to make our way to school together. Just as we walked past the gate, the boy from my class approached us. The moment he saw us, he started pointing back and forth between Ryoma and me, with his mouth wide open and trying to form words. Now he's almost able to say a complete sentence. What a strange guy. Then again, I did lie to him yesterday so he's probably confused.

"You said you didn't know him!" He pointed at me accusingly.

I grinned sheepishly, "Sorry. I wanted to know how long I could play it off. I didn't know you two were that close."

He sighed in disbelief, "You lied to me and I fell for it." Then he turned to my brother, "And you lied to me, too!"

"You never mentioned her given name, so how was I supposed to know who you were talking about? I didn't even know she was in Japan until I got home yesterday," he defended himself.

Our walk to school was filled many questions, all from Momoshiro. Turns out he's one of Ryoma's teammates. I wouldn't have lied to him if I knew they knew each other, and here I thought I would get some fun out of this.

"So you two are siblings huh? Why haven't you ever mentioned her, Echizen?" Momoshiro pulled Ryoma's cap down, which he responded to with a grunt.

"You never told your friends about me? I feel neglected, Ryoma," I faked a hurt face which made him glare at me.

"I'm glad you two are getting along," he replied sarcastically, and then mumbled under his breath, "How did they end up turning against me?"

Momoshiro laughed as we approached the school, "Because it's too easy!" After locking his bike in the rack, he turned to me, "Classes don't start for a while, and we have tennis practice. You're welcome to watch if you want to."

"I'd love to actually. If you don't mind, Ryoma," I smirked at the poor boy who has been picked on since this morning. "Do what you want, nee-san," he huffed and led the way with Momoshiro and me following.

My classmate nudged me and whispered, "Has his attitude always been like this?"

"Mhm," I nodded. "He was so much cuter when he was a kid. He'd actually let me hug him back then." Ryoma visibly twitched when he heard that and we snickered.

"Well, now that you're here, what should we call you?" Momoshiro tapped his chin in thought. "I mean there are two of you. Calling you both by Echizen will get a bit confusing."

"Kinomi is just fine. I'm used to being called by my given name anyway," I assured him.

He grinned, "That works for me. You can call me Momo!"

"You're so comfortable with dropping honorifics that quickly," I laughed. His high-spirited personality was very intriguing.

"It's important to make people feel welcomed, and I'm doing a great job so far, don't you think?" He boasted as we arrived at the tennis courts where members were beginning to set up the courts.

"Ryoma! Momoshiro! If you have time to chat, help set up the courts!" A woman in pink yelled and the two scampered off to do what they were told.

She shook her head and began approaching me with a smile. "You must be Nanjiro's daughter."

"Ryuzaki-sensei," I greeted with a bow and she motioned for me to follow her. I accompanied her inside one of the courts where players were rallying with each other. The majority of them were wearing blue jerseys, while only a few (including my brother) had what I assumed was the regulars' jersey, and the freshmen were picking up balls.

"Are you interested in the tennis club?" Ryuzaki-sensei asked.

I shook my head no. Tennis is definitely not my strong point. I know many things about it since my dad and brothers play, but trust me Ryuzaki-sensei, you don't want me on the courts. NEVER.

"Ryoma-sama! You can do it! Go go, Ryoma-sama! Fight-O!" A shrill voice interrupted my thoughts. A girl was leaning against the fence that barricaded the court my brother was playing in. He sighed but ignored her. She didn't seem to care that he wasn't giving her attention. It actually made her cheer louder and livelier.

"Tomo-chan! You're too loud!" Her friend standing next to her was trying to make her calm down.

"Oh? The brat has fans?" I smirked.

Ryuzaki only laughed. "He sure does. The one in braids is my granddaughter."

Ah, the one that's not cheering her lungs out. The old man mentioned her once or twice when he talked about his tennis coach.

"So, you're not interested in tennis at all?"

"Nah, I've never been that into it. I play decently but never got competitive like they did," I laughed, referring to my guys in my family.

She accepted my answer with a nod, "Well, I hope you find something you like in this school."

"Thank you."

Though tennis isn't my first choice for a hobby, I still find it interesting to watch, so I plopped down on a bench beside the courts and watched the different practice matches going on. Classes don't start for another hour so I have time to blow.

The regular members immediately caught my attention. There was that guy with the weird hair, the friend he was talking to, that redhead who squished my cheeks, glasses guy with the notebook, and guy with the closed eye smile. Uh, what were their names again? I guess all the weirdos join the tennis club, eh? Glad I'm not joining, but then again, I would've been on the girls' team. I wonder if they're weird too… Well, I'm definitely not going to find out.

Though I found them weird, the trio I talked to yesterday was a good kind of weird. Amusingly-weird-in-a-friendly-way is how I would put it. Their tennis play style was also pretty amazing. Well, since they're regulars, I shouldn't expect anything less. Tennis is not my thing, but I gained a natural instinct on what to look for. It's only natural after being surrounded by it since the day I was born.

The hour passed by quickly with the help of free entertainment, and Momo came running up to me afterwards. "I'm going to get changed real quick, and then we can head to class!" He didn't wait for my response before waving and running to the boys' clubroom.

"He's still that energetic after practice? Geez…" I mumbled to myself as I stood up to stretch.

"Nomi-chan!"

"Oomph!" I grunted as I was tackled by the redhead, nearly falling over. He began hugging the life out of me, until his friend with the weird hair came over to detach him.

"Eiji, calm yourself," he sighed before turning to me with an apologetic smile. "Are you alright?"

"I'm alright," I smiled back. Well, guy with the weird hair actually seems pretty nice.

"You're in the same class as Momo?" Redhead seems enthusiastic as usual and he popped up behind me. "That means I'm your senpai~" he beamed and began ruffling my hair. "So, are you interested in the tennis club? I could show you a thing or two if you want to join!"

I shook my head quickly, "No, thank you. I'm just here to watch."

"Eiji, you haven't made it to the changing room yet? You know we have class, right?" A soft voice chuckled. It was the closed eye smile guy.

"Fuji! Look who I found!" Eiji-senpai- I guess that's what I should call him- began rocking side-to-side with his arms still around me, causing me to move too. This guy is way too energetic for his own good. Fuji's face hinted that he was used to his friend's antics, and looked down at me with a polite smile instead. "Kinomi-san, was it? Since you told us your given name, I guess you don't mind?"

This guy gets it. Being called by my last name is still weird for me. "That's perfectly fine," I nodded happily. "I wouldn't want to get confused with my brother anyways."

"Brother?"

"Nee-san, what are you-"

"Nee-san?!"

Ryoma jumped back at the exclamations from the group, looking genuinely surprised. This little brat… He really never mentioned me at all.

"Well, that explains a lot." Glasses guy appeared behind us all of a sudden, scaring the living crap out of us. Except that Fuji guy, who looked unfazed at all. "We were wondering why you seemed familiar. You two do have similar features."

"Hey, hey, I'm definitely better looking than this brat," I pouted, reaching over to mess up his cap and hair.

After the many questions and introductions, we attracted the attention many other club members, too. So, I guess the secret's out.

"I didn't think being related to someone would cause this much attention," I mumbled, walking alongside Momo to class. I could hear the words "Echizen", "Ryoma", and "sister" thrown around in the hallway. "Maybe I should've gone to another school…"

"Don't worry about it; nobody will care after a few days." Momo reassured me. "Besides, your brother is pretty well-known, so going to a different school wouldn't have helped."

"Maybe I should've legally changed my last name before coming here then."

He only laughed at my misfortune as we settled into our seats. "Well, until people get over it, how about I stick by you?"

I smiled gratefully and nodded. That sounded nice. Having someone cheerful like Momo around me definitely puts me in a good mood. That little brat sure picks the right friends.

Momo began chatting with that Arai guy from the tennis team, so I turned to the window to people watch. Eiji-senpai and Fuji-senpai just happened to be walking by, but the latter was the only one who noticed my gaze. He turned towards my direction with a smile, and I jumped a little from being caught staring. He just continued following his bouncing friend.

"Hmm? What are you looking at, Ki-no-mi?" Came Momo's teasing voice behind me. Then he cupped his hand to my ear, "Checking out Fuji-senpai, I see."

He snickered as I swatted him away. I am so glad he said the last part quieter. Who knows what kind of rumors will spread if someone heard that? "For your information, he just happened to pass by. I didn't check out anything!"

"I'm just messing with you," he continued laughing. "That look on your face was priceless, though!"

"You're so mean, Momo," I whined.

He patted my back, "Don't hold back if you find a guy that interests you though. It's your spring time of youth after all. Ah, what it's like to be young…" he trailed off.

"We're the same age…"

* * *

"Don't you think Nomi-chan's like a girl version of ochibi with less attitude," Eiji sniggered to Fuji, leaning over his friend's desk to chat before class started.

Fuji chuckled at the memory of the girl's expression after being caught. "I guess we figured out why she looked familiar, and I have to agree with you about their personalities."

Eiji beamed. "She seems interesting! I want to hang out with her soon!"

The brunette could only sigh with when his friend went on about what he wants to do with her. "Eiji, if you're too forward, she's going to think you want to do something that's not as innocent as what you think."

Eiji stopped in the middle of his rant to cross his arms and pout. "Hmph. Fujiko, you're so negative."

Fuji's teasing expression softens to a smile at his friend's accusation. "I'm just messing with you. You sure like to spoil your underclassmen," he said, referring to how he treats Momo and Ryoma to food often. "You're going to be spoiling her next." He grimaced when he imagined her stuffing her face like the duo. I think she's probably more mannered than that, he thought to himself.

It seemed Eiji had already forgotten Fuji's earlier comment and was bouncing in his seat again, "It's like having a little sister though! I hope she keeps coming to our practices."

* * *

**Let me know what you think? Please? Haha I love writing this but I love people reading too.**

**May I ask for reviews? :D**

**Meanwhile, more League while I brainstorm huehuehue**


	3. Chapter 3

**I haven't done a disclaimer yet on this story have I? I shouldn't need one :(**

**I highly doubt any writers on here own any of the manga/shows/games/movies they're writing fanfics about.**

**Well anyways, I own nothing... except my imagination... and Kinomi**

**Continue reading my lovelies~ I hope you likey~**

* * *

"Why did you buy so much stuff?" My little brat of a brother groaned, dropping all the shopping bags from his hands to my room and sat on my bed.

Just like he promised, Ryoma showed me around the city during my first weekend here. I felt almost bad for making him carry the stuff I bought, but hey, it's his fault for taking me around the shopping district. I'm a girl. What did he expect?

"I only have two arms Ryoma, I can't carry all this by myself," I hummed lightly as I sat on the floor and began rummaging through my new possessions. Soon after, Momo appeared in my room with shopping bags as well, "My only question is: how did you manage to buy so much crap that it takes all FOUR of us to carry them?" He dropped on the bed beside Ryoma.

A soft chuckle signaled Fuji-senpai entering the room. "Now, now Momo, as a man, you can't let a lady do all the work." He set some bags down too and sat cross-legged next to me.

I grinned at the sulking pair on my bed, "You could learn a thing or two from him. Besides, it wasn't that heavy. There are only a few items in each bag."

"Yeah, and you only went to fifty different stores for them," Ryoma said sarcastically.

Shortly after Ryoma and I went out, we ran into Momo who decided to join us. I'm not complaining at all. He always manages to crack a smile on my face, and I have fun around him at school. Even after the talk of me being Ryoma's sister died down, Momo and I continued hanging out together. He has become a really good friend. Anyways, halfway through my "rampage" (as those two like to call it) Fuji-senpai just happened to be in the area and volunteered to help carry my stuff.

I might have overdone it a little, though. We left the house in the afternoon and now it's almost time for dinner. My gaze went to the exhausted pair on my bed, then to Fuji who seemed to be waiting for my reaction.

"If you quit whining, I'll treat you guys to whatever you want for dinner," I offered.

Ryoma and Momo immediately jumped in front of my face. "Are you serious?" Momo exclaimed happily. "How much money do you even have?" Ryoma asked in disbelief.

"Consider it as a thank you for helping me today. I can be nice too, you know?" I smirked.

The sound of a phone being flipped shut was heard and Fuji stood up, "Thank you for your offer Kinomi, but it seems I have something to take care of."

"Eh? But you took time out of your day to help me. I gotta pay you back," I protested. He put his finger on his chin in thought, "In that case, how about you take these two out tonight and we'll go out tomorrow instead?"

I grinned, "Ok, deal!" We exchanged numbers and then he left.

When I turned back to the other two to see what they want for food, I was met with the most mischievous look ever from Momo. "W-what is it?" I stammered, stepping back while he stepped closer.

"Someone has a date~" he sang.

"The hell are you talking about? It's not a date!"

"But Fuji-senpai specifically said "go out"," Momo snickered. Behind him, Ryoma rolled his eyes and stated, "It's not a date."

Good little brother. You can be a brat, but you can be helpful sometimes.

Momo turn to him with a mock disappointed look, "Echizen, why do you have to ruin my fun?"

"Because Fuji-senpai isn't her type. Right, nee-san?" he smirked.

I glared at the little brat. I take back what I said about him being helpful. How does he even know about my preferences in guys?

As if reading my mind, "I've talked with Ryoga a few times," he said casually.

I twitched before pulling my phone from the pocket, smashing the buttons until I found the person I was looking for, and hit dial. It rung quite a few times before a sleepy voice answered. "Hey little sister, you don't happen to know what times zones are, right?" Even after just being woken up, he still had the strength to be sarcastic.

"Tch, I didn't call to have a friendly chat, _Ryoga-nii_." His name was pronounced through grinded teeth and I heard him gulp from the other end.

"What's going on...?" he asked cautiously.

"How often do you talk about me with _Ryoma_?" When I said his name, I turned to stare directly at him. The brat shivered under my gaze and slowly backed away.

"Well," Ryoga chuckled nervously. "I call to see how he's doing sometimes, a-and you just happened to be mentioned. May I ask why you want to know all of a sudden?"

"Oh? You didn't happen to say anything about my personal life, did you?"

"O-of course not… Just talked about how you were doing and stuff…"

"That's funny because the little brat happens to know a little something about my preference in guys."

Momo had a bewildered look on his face. He looked back and forth from Ryoma's terrified wide-eyed self against the wall, to my twitching form making threats to Ryoga with a smile on my face.

"Kinomi, I only told him because we care. Knowing what goes on in your life is how we protect you," Ryoga explained nervously.

"The only one who needs protection right now is you, dear brother."

I hung up after making enough threats to Ryoga that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, and then turned to the pair with a calmer expression. "So, where do you guys want to go?"

"Oi, Echizen!" I heard Momo attempting to whisper behind me. I'll let it go this time since I'm in a better mood than before. The two decided they wanted to go to their usual fast food restaurant, so now we're making our way there.

"Since when did your sister swap places with the Devil?"

"She's only scary when she's mad," Ryoma whispered back. "She's easier to deal with when she's in a good mood."

Deal with? Oh, Ryoma, you innocent little thing. You haven't even seen Ryoga "deal with" me when I'm in my worst mood. Due to Ryoga's overprotectiveness, he poked and prodded until he found out everything about me. Especially what kind of guys I'm attracted to. He then made it his full time job to scare away any guy that seemed to match my preferences. If I was ever lucky enough to have a boyfriend, the poor guy would be gone within the week. This is why I need to constantly threaten my older brother; to keep him from interrupting my life.

Walking seemed to have calmed down my stress. After settling in our seats with our food, I took a look at the boys' trays. It was filled with more burgers and fries than any normal adult can eat. "Can you two really eat that much?" I questioned. "Actually, I paid for it, so you better finish it all."

"Hai!" They chorused before digging in.

As I was munching on a fry, Momo spoke up with his mouth full, "How do you even have enough money to shop and pay for this?"

I raised an eyebrow, not expecting him to ask. "Well, I worked two part time jobs back in America."

They looked at me with curious faces so I continued. "Ryoga-nii and I moved out of his aunt's a few years ago. In order to pay rent, we had to work when we didn't have to go to school. After a while, he started participating in more tennis tournaments and the prize money was enough to help us out. But I liked getting money so I continued working and saved whatever money I didn't use for bills. I'm glad I did, though," I grinned.

"Ah, I see," Momo mumbled in between chews. I looked down at the burger I was eating so I didn't have to look at his mouth full of food. "So, why did you decide to come to Japan anyway? You stayed in America when your family moved, so you didn't want to leave right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I didn't want to leave home. I've lived there all my life so moving to another country seemed unreasonable. As for the reason I decided to leave…" I began twisting my straw as I thought back. "Ryoga-nii wasn't home as often after graduating from high school. He played many tournaments that required him to leave town for long periods of time. I don't mind being by myself for a day or two, but he only came back for a while every week… sometimes even a month. It was getting lonely," I admitted with a small laugh. "And whenever he was home, he just liked to scare away any boy that's within a meter radius of me." I glared at Ryoma after that. "Don't you dare do the same thing Ryoga did," I threatened and he shook his head quickly.

Momo laughed at that, "That's why you were so mad when he mentioned Fuji-senpai not being your "type" haha!"

I grinned evilly, "Finish your food so we can leave, you morons."

"Tch, you were nicer when we first met… So much nicer…"

* * *

"Hmm, what should I wear?" I wondered, staring at the clothes laid out across my room. "It's not chilly at all today, so I'd rather not wear pants," so I tossed those aside in a pile. "I'm tired of skirts already because of school," and I added that to the pile.

Wait a minute. What am I doing? What does it even matter what I wear? "Damn that Momo…" I muttered. "I didn't even think of it as a date until he said that… It's definitely not a date. Why did he have to mess with my thinking like that?"

I decided to settle into a pair of shorts with a thin pullover sweater. "Nothing beats comfort when going out," I hummed to myself, rubbing the sleeves against my face.

As I was putting my sneakers on at the door, a voice called to me from behind, "Oh? Where are you going, young lady?"

"Oyaji?" There was my lazy father dressed in his usual robes, and pinup magazine in hand. "What are you doing up already? It's only noon, and that's early for you…"

"Oi oi, don't disrespect your father," he squinted his eyes at me, rolling up his magazine as if threatening to hit me with it. "Now answer me: where are you going?"

"I'm going out with a friend. Is that a problem?"

He snickered, "A boyfriend?"

"He's a boy and a friend, but he's not my boyfriend. I don't have time for that right now," I pouted. "And I probably never will because if I got one, Ryoga will come all the way here for the sole purpose of beating the crap out of him."

He burst with laughter at that statement and I sighed, "It's not funny, you old man!"

"Haha! I remember you used to call your mother every time after Ryoga chased off a boy!" He was rolling on the floor by now, and all I could do was glare harder at the child who's stuck in an adult's body. "And then you gave up on dating because of him haha!" He stopped to breathe and pat me on the back. "Well, go have fun. Just not too much fun… I'm not ready for bratty grandkids running around yet."

"Geez, Ryoga-nii acts more like a father than you," I groaned, grabbing my bag and marched towards the door as he started laughing again. "And I'm NOT getting pregnant!" I yelled and slid the door open harshly… only to come face to chest with Fuji-senpai, his fist hovering where he was about to knock.

"F-Fuji-senpai…" my eyebrow twitched as I looked up at him. I really hope he didn't hear any of that. A light chuckled escaped his lips and I groaned. This is not my day. "How much did you hear?"

"Just that part where you said you're not getting pregnant."

I slid the door closed to cover up my father's hysterical laughter and looked up at Fuji, "My dad was making fun of me." I explained quickly. "Just pretend you didn't hear anything!"

"It seems you have a lot of fun at home" he said and began leading the way. "Anywhere I want, right?"

I nodded to his question. "Of course! And I wouldn't exactly call that "fun". It's more like a verbal war zone when it comes to my family," I groaned, my recent conversations with the old man and Ryoga replaying in my head. He laughed at my response.

This guy always seems so cheerful, especially with that constant smile on his face. I can't remember a time throughout the week I've been here when he wasn't smiling. Doesn't his face get tired at some point? Or maybe his facial muscles have been set like that since the day he was born? Wait- does he smile even when he cries or get angry?

I imagined him smiling while sobbing dramatically. _No, that makes him look like he has a mental illness or something._

Then an image of him smiling while angry popped into my head. _No no no! Too sadistic looking! It's illegal to be that scary!_

"We're here."

While I was busy mixing his smiling face with other expressions, we arrived in front of a café. "Hm? Is this where you want to go?" I ogled the beautiful, yet simple decorations as we were led to a table by the window. "You sure have good tastes, Fuji-senpai."

"Ah, you like it then. I'm glad." And there's that smile of his where you could never tell what he's thinking.

I flipped open the menu to see what they had and gazed at the little pictures of food on the side. They're all cakes and desserts, and they look delicious. There goes my sweet tooth aching for everything. I picked up my head from its resting place in my hands to look at Fuji. "There are so many choices… It's hard. I'm such a sucker for confectioneries and cakes."

He only laughed, "Get whatever you want. It's on me."

I froze. "Wait- it's supposed to be my treat since you helped me yesterday!"

"It's fine, Kinomi. Think of this as your late welcome gift from me," he waved my protest off. "Are you going to argue against your senpai?" He looked me dead in the eye, as if daring me to protest again.

"You suck," I pouted and crossed my arms. "Why do I get the feeling this isn't the last time you're going to use that senpai/kouhai thing against me?"

He only smirked in response as the waitress came over to take our order. Still indecisive about what I wanted, I asked for a vanilla mocha and had Fuji choose a cake for me.

"Triple-Decker Strawberry Cake?" My eyes lit up the moment a slice of Fuji's choice was placed in front of me, along with my drink.

"Topped with real strawberries and strawberry buttercream frosting too! Enjoy!" The waitress winked before skipping off to her other tables.

"Eh? You know me pretty well considering it's only been a week," I chewed happily on my cake while playing with a strawberry with my fork. It's sweet enough to be a dessert but not overly sweet. I'm glad I had Fuji choose for me.

He laughed, "You think so? I just remember you were about to throw Eiji and Momo off the school roof when they attempted to take some strawberries from your lunch."

I grinned sheepishly at that memory. "They should've known bett-"

For a split second, I could have sworn Fuji's attention shifted to something behind me. But the moment I blink, his gaze was back on me again.

"Fuji-senpai, is something wrong?"

"Hm? What are you talking about?"

I shook my head, "Nothing." I guess it was just my imagination.

"Ne, Kinomi…"

"Y-yes?" Did I just stutter? I couldn't help it though. There's suddenly this weird scary aura emitting from Fuji. Or am I imagining that too?

He sliced a piece off his chocolate cake with his fork before holding it in front of me. "Would you like to try some?" He asked with his ever pleasant smile.

* * *

"Eiji-senpai, you're pushing me off the seat!" Momo said as quietly as he could. He, along with Eiji, Ryoma, Inui, and Oishi were seated comfortably in a booth twenty feet away from Fuji and Kinomi. Well, it was comfortable until Eiji started leaning over Momo to get a closer look at the pair, resulting in Momo almost slipping off. Yep, they were spying.

Momo had called everyone the night before to tell them about Fuji and Kinomi's outing. Kaidoh called him a moron and they had a long argument, Kawamura said he was going to be busy with the shop today, and Tezuka simply hung up on him. Meanwhile, Eiji was curious to see what would happen, Inui wanted data (as usual), Oishi came to make sure nothing bad happened, and Ryoma was dragged out of his home against his will immediately after his sister left.

"It's not a date," Ryoma said. No matter how many times he tried to convince his teammates, they just insisted it was a date.

While Momo was starting to fall off at his end of the booth, Oishi was freaking out on the other end. "Ah! This is bad!" Good thing they had the menus propped in front of their faces so they wouldn't be noticed.

"Don't get me wrong, Echizen. Your sister is a nice girl, but what if they break up? It could affect Fuji and your relationship and that could affect the entire team!" And there goes Oishi worrying about everything like always.

"Momo! Stop pushing me!"

"You're the one pushing me off!"

"Hm… this works out pretty well…" Inui murmured happily, causing the group to pause what they were doing to look at him.

"What are you talking about, Inui? What works out pretty well?" Eiji began leaning the other way to listen to Inui talk, much to Momo's relief.

"According to Fuji's personal data, his preferred type is elegant girls with nice manners and nice fingers. Kinomi's clumsy at times and her manners could use some work when she's mad. Besides that, she fits perfectly. Her preferences on the other hand…" he trailed off while smiling darkly. As the other four tried to take a peek at his notebook, he snapped it shut. "Let's just say Fuji's going to have a rough time if he's actually interested in dating her."

"For the last time, it's not a date," Ryoma sighed and sipped his smoothie. Once again, he was ignored. He huffed and leaned back in his seat. Why don't they listen to him? Kinomi's his sister after all, so he knows her better than any of them.

"Do you mean Fuji isn't the type of guy Nomi-chan likes? Why? What's wrong with Fuji?" Eiji cried.

Inui pushed his glasses up and said casually, "Actually, he's the complete opposite of her type of guy."

"Why are you so happy about it then, Inui-senpai?" Momo exclaimed.

"Because I can get some good information out of this," Inui replied with another dark smile.

"No no no. Fuji will be completely crushed!" Cue Oishi freaking out again. "We can't let a dear member of our team be rejected like that! It'll send him into depression forever!"

Inui rubbed his chin in thought, "Well, let's just continue observing for now."

They stopped talking and peered over their menus just enough to see the pair. They seemed to be conversing and that was when they made eye contact with Fuji. His grin widened for a fraction of a second when he saw them, but returned to normal when he looked at Kinomi again.

"Did Fuji-senpai just see us…?" Momo gulped. His question was answered when they felt something strange coming from Fuji.

Fuji had a calm smile like always, but they've known him long enough to sense that his mood was suddenly different.

They all gaped when he held his forkful of cake in front of her lips.

"Oi, Echizen. Does this convince you it's a date?" Momo pointed. "Normal friends don't feed each other!"

* * *

I stare at the fork in front of me, "Uh, are you sure?" This is weird. Only couples feed each other like this and I don't want people around us getting the wrong idea.

"Go ahead," he said, resting his head on his other hand.

I hesitated but leaned forward anyways.

"How is it?"

"It's good," I nodded. "Maybe I should get chocolate next time." The moist cake was almost enough to distract me from his abnormal gesture. **Almost**. I'm still cautious about this guy. "Fuji-senpai, what are you doing?"

He laughed lightly, "Don't turn around, but it seems we're being spied on. I just wanted to amuse our audience a little."

I sighed, "It's Momo, isn't it? I told him it wasn't date."

"Along with Inui, Eiji, Oishi, and your brother." He seemed to be in thought for a moment before speaking again, "So, you don't consider this a date?"

"E-eh? I-I thought we were just…" I stuttered. Did he take me out with the idea of it being a date? I thought we were just hanging out?!

His laugh brought me out of my frozen state, "It's a date between friends, right? Just friends."

"Geez, people will get things mixed up when you say them the wrong way," I huffed, gripped my fork tighter to resist stabbing this guy as he smiled teasingly.

I'm beginning to get a glimpse of Fuji's personality. He seems so pleasant and nice at first, but underneath that smile, he's definitely something else. I have to start watching my back around this guy…

He shifted in his seat. "Kinomi, can you stop glaring at me please?"

"No."

* * *

**Yay more interesting like I promised last chapter.**

**I love it when the regulars spy. Spying is fun... just not IRL... unless you're the one doing spying and not being spied on. Please don't spy on people, it's creepy. Unless they're you're friends, then spy away!**

**School is starting again for me so might not be able to update as much :(**


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